Satya Byock ‘04

Satya Byock graduated from Lewis & Clark in 2004 with a degree in history. Soon afterward, she traveled to Colombia and developed an internship at a prison in Bogotá, photographing prison life and helping a group of Afro-Colombian male prisoners discuss race discrimination in the prison, nonviolent conflict resolution, and the potential for personal transformation.

After returning home to the United States, Byock worked odd jobs before the December 2004 tsunami in South Asia called her back to Sri Lanka, where she had worked as a schoolteacher in 2002. She organized aid with her community in Missoula, Montana, and then traveled to Sri Lanka to help farmers connect with their government representatives and rebuild their cropland.

In the summer of 2005, Byock moved back to Portland and began to develop her dream of Peopleist.org, a global meeting ground and directory for organizations and individuals who desire a better world and have the ambition and skills to improve it. While serving as the vice president of the nonprofit Education for Development and awaiting the necessary funding for Peopleist.org, Byock is pursuing a master’s degree in counseling psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute.